10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
54,917 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2002 BMW 540:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

problem #2

Jul 192008

540

  • Automatic transmission
  • 109,834 miles
On 7/19/2008, my 2002 BMW 540I with automatic transmission caught fire while myself and my wife driving toward an evening party. At first I smell something is burning then see a tiny bit of smoke. I parked the car in a bank of America parking lot and my wife went out to check the car, and she saw fire started to burst. We call 911 and within five minutes, the front end of the car is in flame. The local fire department came the put out the fire. The car is now been tow to a local shop and will be moved to the "total lot" of my insurance company. I did a quick search on the internet, and found out I am not the only one. I hope BMW can find out exactly what cause the fire and fix the problem. My wife and I are lucky since we got out of car soon enough. This is not a good example for BMW such a luxury brand. Sincerely, steve hung

- Sammamish, WA, USA

problem #1

Mar 012003

540

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
The vehicle failed to shift, which caused the vehicle to stall.

- Bronxville, NY, USA